Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesMets fans, will things be better this year?

It's been a long, and in many ways a painful off-season for Mets fans. Not many clearly positive developments have registered since the clubhouse cleanup at the end of an injury-decimated, fourth-place 2011 season - and some fairly significant negative developments emerged.

Fan favorite and team spark plug Jose Reyes is gone to a division rival. The team cut $50M in payroll - and the only acquisitions that really moved the needle were a series of moves during the winter meetings that revamped the Mets bullpen and brought in workmanlike closer Frank Francisco. On top of that, fans took a body blow last week with the death of the beloved Gary Carter after a year-long battle with brain cancer. Next month, with team finances already a wreck, team ownership goes to trial against the Bernie Madoff trustee, who wants to soak the Wilpons for allegedly having greatly benefited before taking a bath themselves from the enormous Ponzi scheme.